How our Little Indulgences become the Most Expensive Things

There are quite a few people out there who don't really look at their bills. I mean, they never look at everything that's itemized. The few people who do are often surprised at how what they are charged on their bills bears no resemblance to what they were promised. It isn't uncommon for people to find that their smartphone bills are actually 30% higher than they ever agree to pay. Does that really amount to much? Not unless you think $500 a year isn't much. Mst of the great affordable gadgets we have on our wish lists - smartphones, e-readers, appliances or gaming consoles - tend to be the most expensive things to own. Even if they are inexpensive to buy to begin with.

Since so much of what goes into our gadgets these days comes from China, the things that we covet in store windows these days happen to be far cheaper in relative terms than they once were. But it's all part of the business strategy that corporations use: they reel people in with attractive low-priced stuff; and once we get used to all these great things, they make those things expensive with high-priced subscriptions and data roaming plans, installation fees, financing fees, repair costs and consumables. Each one of these can amount to half the sticker price. No one would pay 50% more on the sticker price of it is fees great gadgets to own; but if they are milked for the money in a little installments for different reasons, they are only too happy to pay. The thousands of dollars that we pay in all these costs make those affordable gadgets the most expensive things were likely to have her own.

Let's start with smartphones. We pay 15% a year in taxes on our bills; and this is about to rise. We paid 50% more for apps this year than last year. It's wonderful that you get your iPhone for a mere $199 with a two-year contract. But that's just a ruse. Once you have it, you pay more than $2000 over the two years for talk time, data, messages, all kinds of extras.

A Kindle is such a convenient little device to own. And the top of the range model only costs $189. But that's nothing compared to what you will spend on it in books. The average Kindle owner buy three books a month. That's $400 a year; and then there are the monthly subscriptions to the newspapers and magazines that you like the cost of perhaps five dollars a month on average. Of course reading is a great thing. But you do need to be aware of what you're spending.

A standard family sedan certainly wouldn't belong on the list of the most expensive things you could own, now could it? Cars in real terms, are cheaper than ever before. You get more luxury for your dollar. But still, the true cost of owning a car rises at a spectacular rate. This year alone, the cost of owning a standard car like a Camry or an Accord rose by 12%. What that means is, that your standard $21,000 Camry, when you own it for five years, ends up costing you an extra $11,000 (in standard maintenance and insurance but not gas). Would you buy a Camry if at the dealership they told you that it cost $32,000 for the base model?

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